Triune of Threats
by Sunhawk419
Summary: It's set maybe 5 years after Vegnagun got toasted - people have drifted around, some have settled down. With a strange case of a missing person, is a new threat about to reveal itself to Spira?
1. A Mystery Creating Motion

"Yuna?" A small voice queried. Upon receiving no response it tried again. "Yunie? Are you there?" She was finally rewarded with a weak sob. Glancing around the room she saw nothing, but could still hear the very faint, choking snivelling. In the darkness caused by the closed thick curtains it took her a minute to notice the bed was not flat, as it usually was when made by Yuna's meticulously careful hands. It juddered just a tiny bit with the crying. Very gently, she sat on the edge of the bed and peeled the covers back. The young ex-summoner, ex-sphere hunter lay underneath, flat, face down, soaking the pillow with her tears. Through the difficult gasping Yuna spoke haltingly,

"Rikku, go. They, your help, don't see me, this, like this."  
  
"It's ok Yunie, they'll be fine for a little while without me there. It's nothing delicate, so even that klutz Gippal can't mess it up. And you and I are both best friends and cousins. There aren't many people better for cheering the other up." She rested a hand on Yuna's bare arm and squeezed it gently. The tears subsided just a tiny bit.

"I'm sorry, I just, it's so unfair!" She exclaimed, before breaking down again. She curled herself around Rikku this time, clinging to her pathetically and sending the shaking through both women. Rikku hugged her firmly and spoke with the soothing voice nobody had ever thought she would develop.

"Yuna, sweetie, I know it's not fair. Nobody thinks it's fair. If anybody deserves something better than they have, you do. Kimahri's the only one of us who's had the loss you have, and well… you know how he is with emotions. His big blue Ronso skull just keeps it all inside. You've lost both the men you love, you know you don't have to keep at this. Nobody would fault you if you took some time off, or even retired. But nobody can magically make it better, either." Yuna continued to sob. Rikku's tactic was to simply tell the truth - there was no safe way to get over something other than be honest and hope the person can come to terms with it. It often made things worse in the absolute immediate future though, which Rikku desperately hated. All she could do was hold her and whisper soothing words. Yuna's own cries mixed with protestations and complaints, making Rikku inaudible.

"But why Rikku? Tidus, he" she inhaled sharply and blubbered something unintelligible "to Sin, and, never thought I'd get over it." She took a moment to steel herself and spoke through gritted teeth holding back the tears, "But then, I was happy with Baralai. Why did he get taken as well Rikku, why?" She exclaimed. Rikku had no answer, there _was_ no answer. Yuna's tears turned into frustration, and she pounded the bed with both hands, trying not to scream and alert everyone else. After some moments of this she tired, and collapsed into Rikku's lap.

"Come on Yunie, I know it's too much to bear right now. We should take a vacation, really. All of us! Heaven knows Paine is having trouble with them all. We should look for Baralai." Yuna looked up suddenly.

"What?" There was no other expression she could manage. Rikku would never do or say anything to give her false hope, but Baralai was dead. It was only two days ago - she had seen his body with her on eyes, felt his cold, lifeless hands that no longer touched her with tenderness and love. Saw his hollow, empty throat that no longer spoke with his calm and caring voice. He was dead.

"Yunie, that's why I came to find you now. Gippal said, and I know this is hard to believe, that it's not Baralai. That's not his body lying there." Yuna looked up in amazement. Was it a dream? Was Rikku insane? Was it the sickest joke Spira had ever seen? "I don't want to give you false hope, we don't know where he is or what happened, but that's not him. He might still be out there."  
  
"Yes" Her tears faded within seconds "Let's go! We'll find him! He's ok, I'm sure of it! He's alive somewhere! But how could you know?"  
  
"We've been finding a lot of old technology in the ruins of Zanarkand. One of them is something called a DeON scanner. Every person has a unique DeON code, and the Al-Bhed have all got theirs on record. It took awhile to sort everything out and run the tests, but it's not him. Yuna, something terrible might still have happened to him."  
  
"I know. But we have to try! We have to get everyone together, everyone we can, they can help as well!" Rikku smiled and her green eyes flashed mischievously.  
  
"Already happening. Gippal's having the airship repairs cut short, we'll be ready to take off in the morning! He and I will come, and we'll go around to everyone else to see who wants to come. We've already talked to Nooj, and he and Paine will both come, so we'll just have to pick them up in the morning. The Besaid commspheres are broken though, so we'll have to wait to see how Lulu and Wakka are."

"It's ok, they have little Vidina to take care of. But, I'd like to see them! Maybe on the way, we'll find clues about Baralai."  
  
"I hope so. Look, I need to get back, the classes will start soon."  
  
"Alright, I'll just wash my face and be there." Rikku kissed Yuna very gently on the forehead, smiled warmly and left the room. Yuna stood up, wiped her eyes and took a very deep breath. Exhaling slowly she made her way over to the sink and splashed some cold water on her face. She pulled open the curtains, flooding the room with the afternoon light and giving her a panoramic view of Second Home, and she went downstairs and across the plaza to the school.

It had been Cid's idea to start a school for Al-Bhed children, and it quickly caught on. Gippal was tinkering with all his new toys, and hadn't travelled much lately, when he and Rikku settled down together she took on a job as teacher. Yuna had drifted for a long time after the Gullwings disbanded two years after the Vegnagun incident, and finally came to New Home with her new beau, Baralai. It was strange to have an ex-summoner and the former head of New Yevon living among the Al-Bhed, but that was the case. Baralai had joined the militia - despite everything that had happened Spira was still a dangerous place - and Yuna became a schoolteacher as well. Everything had seemed well. And then, one day, Baralai had been found dead. It was done by weapons, not a fiend. There was no trace of who or why it was done, or indeed why Baralai had been out in the desert alone when it was in the middle of his vacation. The eternally shifting sands of Bikanel meant any evidence had long since been buried, and tracks covered up.


	2. The Intervening Time

Yuna stood on the port exterior platform of the new airship, the 'Augusta'. It cruised over the ocean and the wind made her hair whip around her face. She brushed it aside and pinned it behind her ear, irritated. She'd barely been able to concentrate the previous evening and still felt impatient now they were underway. Her mind wandered to the purpose of the voyage and from there to Baralai himself.

When she had first met him, she was afraid she was to be married to him against her will. Yevon was fond of that idea. Fortunately, he was not involved with the praetor who had arranged this and she escaped it - instead choosing to love him. Sometime after Vegnagun was destroyed, Gippal, Nooj and Baralai had retired from their prominent positions. It didn't last for Gippal, his expertise, leadership and charm propelled him inexorably to a position of power in the Al Bhed. Nooj had settled with Leblanc in Luca, they were soon going to have their first child. People, especially the disaffected people of the Youth League, still came to Nooj for advice, but he had managed to distance himself from a lot of the more important decisions. Baralai had repeatedly been offered his former position in New Yevon and repeatedly turned it down. A new group had also emerged, the Juniper Division - and they too had offered a position to Baralai. He had rejected them as well.

Because he refused to join another group and had nowhere else to settle down, Baralai had accompanied the Gullwings for some time on their airship. During that time, Yuna had discovered she felt a lot of affection and attraction towards him. In his interminably collected fashion, he had offered to take her to dinner. She took the offer without even thinking about it, and they quickly became very much in love. The relationship had faltered very slightly when they settled in New Home, as Yuna felt they were ready to go further but Baralai refused. He never cited his reasons for wanting to wait, but Yuna often complained to Rikku that Gippal and Nooj were never fighting their women off. Baralai had been growing closer and more physical in recent weeks though, and she was encouraged by it.

Thinking about all the others Yuna's mind drifted on to Paine. She had simply upped and left the Gullwings one day; it was the act that eventually ended the sphere hunting group. She joined the Juniper Division, and reached a position of some authority in it, before again leaving for no given reason. She hadn't been seen in some months now, the last anyone knew was that she had headed into a cave in the depths of Mt. Gagazet. Kimahri, still leading the Ronso young in an effort to regain their former glory, had sent numerous search parties to find her, including some he went on himself, but there was no sign of her or the cave she had entered.

Buddy and Brother were right there on the Augusta, flying and arguing as ever. Brother's fascination with Yuna had faded somewhat but he still resented Baralai's ability to win her over. And Shinra was off in Bevelle, trying to make a living selling his inventions. He wasn't doing too badly, and a lot of people had him earmarked for greatness.

Right now, though, the airship was screaming low over the ocean towards Besaid Island. Lulu and Wakka still lived their lives there. Besaid was rapidly booming though, without Sin to destroy it every few months they ha been able to build far more buildings and make them more impressive. It had very rapidly become a tourist spot, both as Yuna's home, and as the home of the now-legendary Besaid Aurochs. Even with Tidus gone the team had seemingly been galvanised into a state of quality. Wakka had never made good on his promises to stay retired, mainly because Lulu insisted he continue his Blitz career if he so desired. They had brought the cup home four times in the last five years; now that Yevon's sabotaging and fixing of the tournaments was over the Luca Goers had quickly been exposed as the mediocre blitzers they were. This left only the Al Bhed Psyches as the real challenge to Auroch domination but with the new wave of inspiration and skill from the small island quickly decimated them.

Little Vidina was starting to grow up, too. Only five he was already showing an interest in his father's love of blitz, but Lulu had insisted he learn other things as well, and had taken it on herself to educated him in both culture and magic. He wasn't a genius, but he wasn't that far from it either. He would have been the poster child of Juniper Division's motto; 'Hope for a new Spira' with his happy life and myriad skills, but Wakka had little love for the group and would have none of it. For all his qualities the young boy was still quite the hellion, often rousing the other children of Besaid into a near-rabid state of hyperactivity and never once coming in for dinner when called, or going to bed on time, or bathing when it was demanded of him. Wakka usually laughed these things off, saying boys will be boys, but he often tested his mother's patience to it's limits. As a result, Lulu had little desire to have another child for another couple of years, hoping to get the more rambunctious period of one child out of the way before another came along.

The island of Besaid was rising to meet the Augusta from the horizon. Yuna shook herself out of her daydreams and went back into the main cabin. Rikku and Gippal were mocking each other, as ever, and Brother was practising some more advanced words of the language. 'Predominance' he said, then 'Stupefaction' and 'Occlusion'. He had taken his speaking to an excessive degree, far beyond what most Spirans who grew up speaking it would understand. He carried on muttering as he examined a book. Buddy was idly sitting at the controls and checking various panels every now and then. He spoke suddenly,

"Ok people, we're coming in for landing." and took the control joystick into his hands, foregoing the autopilot. He had never trusted automated flight, but takeoffs and landings he was completely unable to accept. 


End file.
